My neighborhood of Edgewater in Chicago’s north side has a very eclectic mixture of cars, which reflects the diversity here that I’ve been a part of for the past ten years. It’s a real melting pot, with many languages being spoken even in my own condominium building. Sometimes, I’ve been able to get a view of some of the drivers of the cars I find more interesting, but the driver of this ’77 Ford Thunderbird Town Landau has yet eluded me, despite a handful of car sightings several years back.

This thing went for close to Corvette money off the showroom floor in 1977. That year’s plush Town Landau variant of the Thunderbird base-stickered at $7,990 ($32,236 / adjusted for 2015), within about 8% of the base Corvette’s $8,648 sticker ($34,891 / adjusted). Let that blow your mind for a second. I’m thinking specifically of those who consider the last, 2002 – ’05 T-Birds to have been overpriced. The last Thunderbird might have been expensive for what it was and for its content, but it was still a convertible, made a bold visual statement, and didn’t have a Mercury twin.

Our subject car, however, was pretty much a (very handsomely) reskinned and repackaged ’72-vintage Ford Torino which shared its basic bodystyle with the concurrent Mercury Cougar XR7. I was unable to find a breakout of Town Landau production out of the 318,000-plus Thunderbirds produced for the model year, but the T/L must have been successful for its extra premium, as this option package was available through ’82, even after the retirement of the seventh generation ‘Birds after ’79.

That said, I think both the ’77 T-Bird and the ’77 ‘Vette would have looked right at home valet-parked in front of the hottest nightspots and restaurants of their day. Both were popular, V8-powered coupes (the ’77 Thunderbird had a 302 standard, with options for a 351 or 400) with an air of importance and fashionable hidden headlamps. Seeing both cars next to each other in any garage would have spoken to the upscale tastes of the occupants of that dwelling.

The ’77 Corvette probably won’t have a place in the Bowling Green, Kentucky Pantheon of Best Corvettes Ever, but there’s no question of which car I’d rather have today, even if this specific Thunderbird wasn’t looking so busted. Still, this example holds a certain, lurid charm for me.

Have you ever wanted to ask a car a few questions? This once-grand dame looks to have fallen on some hard times. I’m imagining four husbands (owners), a front-console ashtray stuffed full of Capri butts, and a youth that was spent as the belle of the ball, until disco was well out of fashion with the arrival of the new-wave ’83 Aerobird, one for which she was first traded. Each line on her face, each dent and rust spot, tells the story of little heartbreaks strewn in her life’s path. Her brushed aluminum tiara still shines a little, like a tarnished halo.

These days, she goes out only when she needs to – for groceries, for gas, for a late night cocktail, for a chance to remember things the way they used to be. She faces each day, chin out, with the resolve of Elaine Stritch, ever ready to take yet another one of life’s blows on the chin and just not give a damn. This broad can take it. Actually, I haven’t seen her for several years now and wonder sometimes if she finally moved away from this beachfront community, or if she finally just wouldn’t turn over that one last time and died in her sleep.

My aunt had a base-model Thunderbird of this vintage. (I want to make it clear that I was not writing about her life just now.) At the time, she was a young medical professional in her late 20’s, and her Fashion-Bird seemed to fit her to a tee. I always liked the style of the 1977 – ’79 models, and Ford had successfully sold this young, factory-town kid on the idea that these downsized Thunderbirds were a cut above all but those few in the very top echelon of personal luxury cars.

It’s a regular process, the aging of a car, and its slight, downward trajectory with each passing year and/or owner. But it’s a process made all the more fascinating to me when the car was a top-line flagship model. The exact point at which something gets broken and the owner leaves it as-is…that first unfixed scratch or paint-chip. This car undoubtedly was a looker off the lot. What a lofty height from which this ‘Bird fell, even if it took over three decades to complete its descent.

All photos as taken by the author in Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois,
spanning from Wednesday, February 16, 2011, through Saturday, June 25, 2011.

60 Comments

I like these T-birds, too, even though they are still a bit too big for my tastes. In fact, I considered buying a lowish mileage Diamond Jubilee Edition a few months ago.

This example could look 100% better if given a professional detailing. It has good colors and while I’ve never understood the point of that stainless steel “tiara”, it doesn’t appreciably detract from this car’s looks.

BTW, I looked up the “numbers” on these cars, the Town Landau’s base price was about 50% higher than the base T-birds starting price. And while that sounds quite high, the Diamond Jubilee model (a 1 year only special edition) had a base price of nearly….DOUBLE the starting price of a base T-bird.

The Town Landau was a rare anomaly that did carry a huge premium over the base model. It had few takers. The base T Bird for 1977 was far cheaper and much cheaper that the ’76 – shrunken and decontented to compete with Grand Prix, Cutlass, Regal and Cordoba, instead of Lincoln and Cadillac. A huge success in the marketplace as buyers got the iconic Thunderbird name for a bargain price. Production went from 53,000 in ’76 to 318,000 in ’77, 353,000 in ’78 and 284,000 in ’80. The T-Bird essentially remained a mid-range intermediate for the rest of its history, with the exception of the last generation short-lived retro Bird convertible.

the only Lincoln that did come with a leather wrapped steering wheel during this time… the Versailles… though the Mark V Diamond Jubilee and Collector Series did have the wood tone appliqué in the steering wheel…

In 1981 my Dad bought a79 for Mom. It had been very beautifully restored following a collision. Metallic caramel, gold pin striping, that vinyl “exterior décor package” , the alloys seen above, buckets, console and the rare but far from user friendly glass T-roof. Although she required assistance to enjoy that feature she loved that car. Running it in and out of a heated garage every winter in southern Ontario made its replacement mandatory by 87. Made a splash wherever it went.

She faces each day, chin out, with the resolve of Elaine Stritch, ever ready to take yet another one of life’s blows on the chin and just not give a damn

One would expect no less from a South Side girl. Born at the corner of 130th and Torrence (we won’t talk about her weird cousins from LA) and still proudly and defiantly wearing her White Sox black in the heart of Cubbie Nation.

This being a ’77 Town Landau means that there’s a 400 under the hood. The ’78 and ’79 models had the full range of engines available. Nearly every option on the base model was included on these. Cruise control, 8-track player, automatic HVAC (regular a/c was standard) and a sunroof were pretty much the only extras.

Mark, thank you so much. This car’s “persona” practically leaped off the pixels into my imagination. It is mindblowing to me that this one escaped C4C. I felt there must have been some kind of real, emotional connection between this car and “her” owner, even in this state.

This one was too old for C4C. There was an age cutoff on the high end, too–I think maybe 25 years? I don’t recall why, exactly, but I’m glad it was there, as it kept cars like this out of the jaws of the program.

I am no E. B. White, but that is some high praise and I thank you both for the compliment and for that link…what an article. So much of what he wrote about – with the Model T being born a “naked baby” with limitless possibilities for both fixing it and making it better – is exactly what I feel went missing with the advent of too much technology of cars from maybe 1985 forward. Few people will likely ever restore an ’88 Chevy Beretta because few could work on them in the first place.

Hmmm… I am left cold by the styling – this worked for me once when the Lincoln Mark 3 was released upon a stunned market in 1968 but Ford – just like GM later – recycled the same looks to make it common and no longer exciting.

But I could imagine it done as a gentleman’s hot rod: nothing too obvious but with the suspension/brakes tied down, wider wheels and serious rubber and, of course, 400-500 hp…

I think thoughts like these when I see a worn old car. Who owned it? What came along that tempted them to replace it? Was it loyal and hard working, or was it a high maintenance prima donna? Well done!

As much as I generally dislike the cars built on this platform, I have a soft spot for these. Not sure why, as I never really had a relationship with one.

I’d agree that the greenhouse on the LTD II was more attractive than the T-bird. It was the LTD II’s front end styling with the stacked double lights and massive front bumper that really didn’t work for me.

Searcher

Posted July 18, 2015 at 12:33 PM

Saw an LTD II Sport in Cincinnati not long ago. It was running in traffic surrounded by modern Civics, Corollas, and Jettas and the styling of the LTD was striking in its anger and aggression. Impression was of a shark in a school of fish.

Great story. I have a soft spot for these Thunderbirds, as they were everywhere during my teenage years. My father carpooled with the “double dipping” retired colonel up the street (military pension and a federal job). The colonel, who was also the father of one my friends, bought brand-new cars every 3-4 years, and drove a loaded 1978 Town Landau in dark metallic brown.

My father grumped that the Thunderbird’s back seat had less room than the back seat of our 1976 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Holiday sedan.

He’d say, “Who would pay extra for that?”

Never mind that I would have rather had the Thunderbird.

As for how Ford could get away with charging so much for the different models – personal luxury coupes were like the full-size pickups of today. Just as people march into the dealership and sign on the dotted line for a loaded, upscale F-150 or Silverado today, quite a few buyers were willing to pay big bucks in the 1970s for loaded personal luxury coupes.

Ford was just doing what comes natural for a business – making hay while the sun shines.

As for whether I’d take a Corvette or a Thunderbird from these years – I’ll go with the Thunderbird. Late 1970s and early 1980s Corvettes were nothing to write home about. At least this Thunderbird is a good representative of its genre.

These T-birds have got the strangest side windows of any car that I can think of, but it works. If these windows were on a Rambler everyone would have noticed they were odd but Ford made it a T-bird signature. It’s a little ironic, but all of the hipsters that I knew who drove these new are in about the same condition as the feature car.

Aah, brings back memories, my first car was a 1978 T-Bird, I bought from my boss who owned a car wash (so it was super clean) in the summer of 1984, I was 17 years old. It was a creampuff, Metallic Red exterior, red interior. It had the bucket seats, console shifter, power everything and even the 8 track! And the 400 engine. And yes, it got traded in for my next car, a 1987 Thunderbird! Great memories.

The Town Landau was released in mid-77, so the ’77s aren’t plentiful.
Also, technically there was only one 351 option, not two. There was a 351W and and 351M, both 2-barrel. If you ordered a 351-2V, it was luck of the draw as to which one you got, there was no way to specify one or the other.
My dad nearly totalled his leased 460 Elite in the fall of ’76, and there was a slight chance they would write it off and give him one of these. Naturally, I pretty much turned up my nose at every engine choice. Even the 400 was a dog.
Advance press releases implied that there would be a 400-4V option, but it never materialized.
The Elite was returned, poorly repaired by the dealer’s body shop, it’s frame out of square, with clunking tie rods, and endured for another 18 months.

Roger, thanks for clarifying on the 351, and I’ll fix the text. Much appreciated. It’s amazing your dad’s Ford dealer got away with such lousy workmanship as you described. I’ll bet he was glad he had leased it.

I remember these cars as being fairly common, and TBirds stayed top-sellers in California until well into the aero years, but 318,000 sales in one year? Wow!! How times have changed. I guess those are all F150 and CRV buyers now.

I was just out of college when the new 1977 Thunderbird was introduced. “A New Kind of Thunder”. Considering the design of other cars of the time, I really liked the Thunderbird. I loved the “Basket Handle” “Crown Victoria” type of roof, the wall-to-wall tail lights, the cut crystal looking front turn indicator lenses, the “Gilles” in the front fender, and the quiet smooth ride. And of course, the low price for the base model. It would have been the car that I would have bought – had I had the money. So, the years went by and the decades went by, and my son gave me a coffee table book on Thunderbirds. There were some nice photos of this generation, in the book. I knew that they did not have a following (and still don’t, and may never have), and would be truely cheap wheels. Out of curiosity, I looked on Ebay and found a very nice one with only 42,000 miles on it. There was no reserve and the price was crazy low. I decided to bid on the car. Well, I ended up with the winning bid (in Jan. 2005) of only $2,600!

The car is basically a new car. It starts, idles, and runs so smooth that it is not believable that it is now almost 40 yrs old! In my opinion, it drives better than a new car. The doors and trunk lid close and sound like they did in 1977. Great road car, as well as an everyday driver for that matter. My car has the 351 cu. in. V-8, and it is relatively fast.

It gets more attention at cars shows than you would think. It seems that everyone either had one or knew someone who had one when they were new. The 1978 model sold more than any Thunderbird. A fantastic capitalization on the expensive Thunderbird name, at a low price. I forget, but I don’t think I have yet to reach 45K miles on my car. In 10 yrs, I have only replaced the batter, installed new double stripe white wall tires and spinner center caps (not shown on the photo), and repaired a leak in a brake line.

It is so funny to read articles that state that you can still buy an antique car for $10K – and there examples are rusted out 4 door Ramblers or the like. These Tbirds are so un-popular that they don’t even show up in “Cheap Wheels”! Of course, that was good for me when I bought mine, and besides – I don’t care because I think they are great cars, both in appearance and in drive qualities. BTW, these Tbirds had real chrome plated metal around the rear quarter windows and opera windows. Very nice and expensive and long lasting – as compared to the GM intermediates that had cheap plastic. The pin stripe goes over the roof on the crown and also through the opera windows as a scribed in the glass etching. Nice touch. I also like the solenoid controlled automatic front seat back release when the door is opened.

My car even has the Quadraphonic Tape Player – and it works and I have the original FoMoCo sample tape (which works too). My car is the metallic copper color and looks fantastic in the bright sun. The picture does not do the car justice.

I also have a 1972 Lincoln Mark IV in new condition. The ride and drive quality of the Thunderbird is very similar to the Lincoln, but only a lighter feel overall including lighter feeling and sounding doors – but again, very similar overall. The Diamond Jubilee Edition had more insulation (including carpet in the trunk and on the trunk lid interior) and was even closer to quiet smooth ride of the Mark IV. Anyway, this generation Tbird is nice looking and nice riding and driving with the 351, and under appreciated. Whey do you think they sold so many in the first place?

A lot of times Ford build quality went unnoticed. Both my ’70, and ’71 Mavericks had aluminum trim in the interior, and REAL glass lenses for the lowly license plate light! And my ’83 Ranger pickup has aluminum trim in the cab.

Bill, thanks so much for sharing both your history with this car and the picture – your car is gorgeous. I feel like these cars are sleepers and that at some point, when they’re all but gone, they’ll start to appreciate. It doesn’t surprise me at all that your car gets attention at shows – great color for it, too. It’s one angular look that really just works well. 800,000 people thought so, anyway, over it’s 3-year production run.

Agree with you about the misleading nature of the “classic car” market. As you say, rusted out Ramblers and Roadrunners for 10K+. But thousands of beautiful big block coupes, sedans, and hardtops nobody wants, under $5k. Why, I’ll never understand. It’s the same classic car ownership experience, just as much fun, cheaper parts for inevitable repairs, and you get just as much attention pulled up at the curb.

Agreed, a great article. I also have always loved these cars, which came out when I was 16. A coworker special ordered one in late ’76 in white/red vinyl top with white/red leather interior and the 400 CID V-8. She let me drive it a few times, and it was quite a stormer for the day. It was beautiful and powerful and I can certainly see why they sold so well. If I had more garage space, I’d have purchased one long ago.

A wonderfully crafted article. Almost makes me want to move to that part of the city where half the street lights are out, the street sweepers don’t roam, and rough and tumble cars like this still command the avenues.

These cars to me show what the magic of a name can do for a car when marketed properly and at the right time. Really these T-birds were the direct replacement for the Elite that preceded it. There was nothing of any substance that the 1977 T-bird offered over the 1976 Elite, yet the sales skyrocketed. While I would agree that the styling of the T-bird was a vast improvement over the 1976 Elite (IMO, one of the worst styled cars on this platform), the majority of the sales increase was based on the fact that the T-bird was now attainably priced for many more people. Personally, I’ve tried to like these cars, but the styling is just too baroque for me. I think the 1977-79 XR7’s were styled better, but these T-birds were still probably the best looking birds of the 1970’s in my opinion and certainly nicer than the 1980-82 “Squeak Bricks.”

The Elite was originally marketed as “in the Thunderbird tradition” and they sold OK. When you combine the Elite buyers with the traditional big Bird buyers it is not surprising that sales of the downsized Thunderbird took off. Of course they probable attracted some new buyers who had wanted a big Bird but couldn’t afford/didn’t want to pay that much.

”It’s a regular process, the aging of a car, and its slight, downward trajectory with each passing year and/or owner. But it’s a process made all the more fascinating to me when the car was a top-line flagship model. The exact point at which something gets broken and the owner leaves it as is…that first unfixed scratch or paint-chip.”

I’ve always been fascinated by this. I look at old cars and wonder ”At what point did the owner just stopped caring?”

When something fails on my 25 yo daily driver I’ll admit sometimes laziness becomes quite tempting. But then I slap myself in the face; ”NO! I say to myself. This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the Dark Side of the Force. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Now get off your ass and go fix that car.” 😀

Joseph D. Man! Excellent post! And again, excellent photos, but could I expect any less from Mr. Flint Foto Factory?

I love this generation of T-Bird despite my GM proclivities and my distaste for the Torino. They just looked like what a personal luxury coupe should look like! I think I even prefer them over the Cougar. But that interior…. Not so good…

Thanks, William! (I wonder what my grade school English teachers would think of my grammar and use of verb tenses – LOL.) In my opinion, the Thunderbird is in its own league from anything else in Ford’s stable of ’70s midsizers. It’s stylish enough to win a free pass from those who consider the other cars on its shared platform too bloated. It’s crisp, angular lines certainly help. I wonder if Ford stylist Don de la Rossa (Lincoln Mark V) was largely responsible.

Glad to see this one make the “Best of” awards for the past year. Joseph has been a great addition to the CC team, giving this Downstater a renewed appreciation for the people, neighborhoods, and of course the CCs of the place those of us south of I-80 traditionally love to hate.

Of all of Joseph’s finds on the streets of Edgewater this one is a real treat. It hit home for me as my maternal grandfather’s last car was a ’78 Thunderbird. The fading beauty theme was most appropriate, especially given how immensely popular they were when new.

Joseph’s enthusiasm for Chicago is evident in all of his neighborhood CCs, making this car all the more special. It’s the only one so far that was actually built in Chicago.